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Libya’s Gadhafi employing scorched earth strategy

OTTAWA—Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi is ordering his withdrawing forces to destroy oil refineries and other strategic facilities as NATO nations suggest the end of his four-decade rule is nearing.

NATO commander Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, speaking to reporters from his headquarters in Naples, Italy, said he had no information to back up reports of a Gadhafi “suicide plan” to raze the capital, Tripoli, before he is forced from power.

In this March file photo, Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi gestures to supporters as he speaks in Tripoli, Libya. (Ben Curtis / AP)

“I can report that the Gadhafi regime has given direction to its forces to destroy certain facilities as they withdraw, such as fuel refineries,” he said.

Libya’s oil reserves are the ninth largest in the world and a key export to southern Europe, providing much of the country’s wealth.

“This is a government, this is a leader that will not hesitate to kill his own population to achieve his personal goals. He has lost all legitimacy to lead his people,” Bouchard said.

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The air force general wouldn’t give any more details or reveal how he has come about this information, but said the orders are in some cases being flouted by troops loyal to the regime who have been surrendering to rebel forces or abandoning their posts.

The word comes as NATO foreign ministers prepare to meet Friday in Istanbul to discuss a mission that is now in its fifth month. In the lead up to the gathering, France, which just this week voted to extend its participation in the bombing mission, suggested that a negotiated resolution to the conflict could be on the horizon. That is based on discussions with emissaries for the embattled Gadhafi.

The Associated Press also reports that host country Turkey will present other nations with a plan Friday to bring an end the hostilities, though no details were provided. Foreign Minister John Baird will be representing Canada at the meeting.

It’s not clear whether talk by western nations of a ceasefire and an end to the conflict are based on realism or optimism, and Gadhafi has proved time and again to be a fickle and an unpredictable foe.

But it is certain that the clock is ticking for NATO countries, some of whom have doubted the wisdom or efficacy of attempting to bomb the Libyan regime into submission. Most countries, including Canada, only have approval for the mission to continue through to the end of September. Their critics will only grow louder and their publics wary if a solution cannot be reached by that time.

The Conservative majority in Ottawa would have a free hand to further extend the mission into the fall, but Defence Minister Peter MacKay hinted at the already-heightened sensitivities in a conference call with reporters Thursday morning.

“You always hope that every conflict is going to end before a shot is fired. This conflict I think it’s fair to say has proven to be a very complex and involved affair,” he said.

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MacKay said that, like in Afghanistan, there are tribal ties and rivalries to be factored into the calculations.

After mentioning the decade-long Afghan conflict, which MacKay has handled as both defence and foreign minister, he quickly added: “There’s no suggestion that this conflict is going to nearly approach the length that we have encountered there.”

There is also the difficulty of relying on a land force almost entirely made up of untrained or poorly trained rebels. Several reports this week have also surfaced revealing the use of young children and underage teens either as fighters or workers in the rebel supply lines, raising questions about the factions with which NATO nations have allied themselves.

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